Queen of Caribbean shot-putters

New Zealander Valerie Adams, the silver medalist at this year’s Olympic Games, is 6’ 4” tall and weighs 260 pounds. She was seven times world champion, three times Commonwealth Games champion, and the Olympic gold medalist in 2008 and 2012.

Christina Schwanitz of Germany is 5’ 11” and weighs 230 pounds.

She was third at the World Junior Championships in 2004, 11th at the 2008 Olympics and tenth at the 2012 Olympics. She was the European champion in 2014 and 2015, and world champion in 2015.

Michelle Carter, the American gold medalist in Rio, is the first American to ever win this event.

She is only 5’ 9” but formidable at 260 pounds. In 2001 she was the silver medalist at the World Youth Championships and World Junior Champion in 2004. Michelle was the US national champion in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016, and finished 15th at the 2008 Olympics and fifth at the 2012 Olympics.

The world record of 22.63 metres was established in 1987 by Natalya Lisovskaya, a 6’ 2” tall Russian.

Although Borel has never won an Olympic or World Championship medal she has had an impressive career. After earning the bronze medal at the Central America and Caribbean Games in 2006, she won the gold medal at these games on five occasions — in 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014. She was tenth at the 2004 Olympics, 17th at the 2008 Olympics, and 12th at the 2012 Olympics. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, she earned the silver medal and at the 2015 Pan- Am Games she won gold. In July she was fourth at the World Indoor Championships and seventh in Rio.

Borel has been a superb TT representative who has done her country proud. She will be remembered for her sterling achievements In some countries Olympic gold medal winners are rewarded with a bonus by their country. In Singapore the amount is US$753,000; Taiwan, US$640,000; Malaysia, a solid gold bar worth US$600,000; Indonesia, US$383,000; Thailand, US$287,000; Azerbaijan, US$255,000; India, US$150,000; Kazakhstan, US$239,000; Thailand, US$314,000 over 20 years; Philippines US$237,000 over 20 years; Italy, US$185,000; India, US$110,000; France, US$66,000; Russia, US$135,000; South Korea US$55,000; South Africa, US$38,000; USA, US$25,000; Canada, US$20,000; Germany, US$20,000; Australia, US$15,000.

Members of the Brazilian soccer teams each receive US$100,000 for winning an Olympic gold medal and US$11,000 for winning silver or bronze.

The UK, Sweden and Norway do not give monetary rewards to their Olympic gold medalists.

A 2008 Olympic gold medalist from Belarus was offered sausages for life by a sausage factory.

The last occasion on which an Olympic gold medal was made of solid gold was in 1912. Modern Olympic gold medals are made using 494 grams of silver coated with six grams of pure gold. The value of the metal used in a 2016 Olympic gold medal was US$587.

The value of an Olympic medal is in the beholder’s eye and in 2013 a Jesse Owens 1936 Olympic gold medal sold for US$1.46 million at auction.